Lady Chargers roll into 3A third round

A’Diyah Ussery and the Crest Lady Chargers refused to be denied in a 70-56 second-round 3A basketball playoff victory against Anson on Wednesday night at Ed Peeler Gymnasium.

Ussery scored 38 points and helped Crest respond any time the Lady Bearcats tied the contest or took the lead.

“We knew it was coming,” said Ussery of Anson’s runs. “We stayed calm and cool and kept playing our game.”

Crest plays at Weddington (24-4), a 58-29 winner against North Iredell, in a 3A sectional final matchup on Friday night.

Ussery was pivotal in a sequence that turned the game for good. After Anson went up 37-34 midway through the third quarter, Ussery found Se’Dasia Love for a fast-break layup, then converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 39-37 lead.

“She’s just tough,” Crest coach Shane Compton said of Ussery. “We’re lucky she plays for us. We beat a good team tonight. I told the girls we’re one win from getting on a nice bus.”

Anson tied it once more, 39-all, but the Chargers scored 11 of the next 13 points for a 50-41 edge and never led by fewer than four points in the final quarter.

Caleia Jones added 10 points for Crest and scored her 1,000th career point in the last minute of the contest. She and Ussery have both hit that milestone as juniors this season.

For a group that had some major accomplishments in the past three seasons, it’s the first time these players will play in the third round.

“It was very important,” Ussery said. “It feels good to be part of a good program and make it to the next level.”

Serenity Crosby had nine points for the Chargers, with Love and Amber Mintz each scoring six each.